1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to apparatus, methods and systems for tracing grooving and/or cutting insulating materials, wood and other substances that typically are in panel form and, from a particular aspect thereof, relates to a dismountable and transportable table for tracing, grooving and cutting panels of insulating material, particularly with a view to the fabrication of ventilation or air conditioning shafts or flues.
2. Disclosure Statement
This disclosure statement is made pursuant to the duty of disclosure imposed by law and formulated in 37 CFR 1.56(a). No representation is hereby made that information thus disclosed in fact constitutes prior art inasmuch as 37 CFR 1.56(a) relies on a materiality concept which depends on uncertain and inevitably subjective elements of substantial likelihood and reasonableness, and inasmuch as a growing attitude appears to require citation of material which might lead to a discovery of pertinent material though not necessarily being of itself pertinent. Also, the following comments contain conclusions and observations which have only been drawn or become apparent after conception of the subject invention or which contrast the subject invention or its merits against the background of developments subsequent in time or priority.
Grooving patterns form transversal folding, creasing or bending lines for the manufacture, from panels, of insulated ventilation shafts of square or rectangular cross-section or of insulated air movement or extraction ducts in dwellings and public or private buildings and localities.
In Europe, such shafts customarily are fabricated by folding panels along several parallel grooves provided in such panels. One folds the panel about the groovings for forming the corners of the lateral surfaces.
The shaft sections thus formed are assembled piece by piece. The cutting and above all the grooving of the panels are all done manually. Persons occupied with carrying out this job place the panel to be grooved on a table and manually trace on each side of the panel the necessary markings for indicating the grooving lines in pencil or any other marker with the aid of a ruler. The grooving and cutting operation is thereafter carried out by hand with a manual cutting tool moved along a rectilinear guide preliminarily placed at the level of the trace.
Such manual method, carried out entirely by hand without the aid of apparatus, imposes several inconveniences in practice and fails to assure the requisite parallelism of the groovings and the desired precision of their placement.
Notorious consequences of such drawbacks include errors, awkwardness, slowness, bad work, shafts which are badly constructed, difficult to assemble, and often present structural deviations prejudicial to the quality of the air distribution or aspiration system and prejudical to conservation of energy through insulation.
Moreover, the manual execution of the required dimensions is arduous. In particular, such method is inefficient and, in effect, is opposed to industrial necessities in terms of large-scale production at identical dimensions.
Known methods also render it practically impossible to cut the panels at the construction site for in situ adjustments to the peculiarities of each installation. Fabricated shafts, on the other hand, are not easily transported.
Unfortunately, immense amounts of energy therefore continue to be lost continuously all over the United States, in summer as well as in winter.